Nasir (album)

American musician DJ Khaled's 2016 album Major Key featured a track titled "Nas Album Done" with Nas which announced the completion of his album. The same year, Kanye West expressed his wish to produce an album by Nas, seemingly promising Barack Obama that he would achieve this.{{cite web|url=https://pigeonsandplanes.com/news/2016/03/kanye-west-promised-barack-obama-nas-beats|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927122036/https://pigeonsandplanes.com/news/2016/03/kanye-west-promised-barack-obama-nas-beats|archive-date=27 September 2018|last=Rossignol|first=Derrick|title=Kanye West Promised President Barack Obama He Would "Do Beats On Nas' Next Album"|website=Pigeons and Planes|publisher=Complex Media|date=March 5, 2016|access-date=June 15, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kanye-west-promised-president-obama-he-d-produce-on-nas-next-album-news.20496.html|title=Kanye West Says He Promised President Obama He'd Produce On Nas' Next Album|publisher=HotNewHipHop|date=March 4, 2016|access-date=June 15, 2018}}

In May 2017, Nas' brother, Jungle, made a post on Instagram in a recording studio with the hashtag #NasAlbumAlmostDone.{{cite news|url=https://djbooth.net/features/2017-05-22-nas-new-album-status|title=Nas' Brother Jungle Updates Fans on "Nas Album Done" Status|work=DJBooth}}

In April 2018, Kanye West announced that he was producing Nas' new album with a release date of June 15, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/kanye-says-hes-producing-nas-new-album/|title=Kanye Says He's Producing Nas' New Album - Pitchfork|website=pitchfork.com|date=23 April 2018 }} West later released an incomplete track listing of the five albums he was working on, revealing the Nas track "Everything".{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/05/kids-see-ghosts-tracklist/|title=Kanye West reveals tracklist for Kids See Ghosts collaborative album with Kid Cudi|date=May 15, 2018|work=Consequence of Sound}} On June 12, West revealed a full tentative tracklist for the album, while the album title and cover art was revealed on June 14, a day before release.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/nas-reveals-new-kanye-produced-album-title-cover-and-live-stream/|title=Nas Reveals New Kanye-Produced Album Title, Cover, and Live Stream|publisher=Pitchfork|date=June 14, 2018|access-date=June 14, 2018}}

A listening party for the album took place on June 14, 2018 in Queensbridge, New York City and was streamed via Mass Appeal's YouTube channel.

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 5.8/10{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/9406/Nas-NASIR.aspx|title=NASIR by Nas reviews|website=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=June 22, 2018}}

| MC = 58/100{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/nasir/nas|title=Nasir by Nas Reviews and Tracks|website=Metacritic|access-date=June 18, 2018}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Kellman|first=Andy|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/nasir-mw0003186198|title=Nasir – Nas|website=AllMusic|access-date=August 14, 2018}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2Score = B−{{cite web|last=McGowan|first=Colin|date=June 15, 2018|url=https://www.avclub.com/nas-and-kanye-make-a-rushed-connection-on-nasir-1826861771|title=Nas and Kanye make a rushed connection on Nasir|website=The A.V. Club|access-date=June 15, 2018}}

| rev3 = Exclaim!

| rev3Score = 5/10{{cite magazine|last=Harmony|first=A.|date=June 21, 2018|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/nas-nasir|title=Nas: Nasir|magazine=Exclaim!|access-date=June 22, 2018}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|date=June 18, 2018|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jun/18/nas-nasir-review-shifting-mercurial-but-ultimately-queasy-listening|title=Nas: Nasir review – shifting, mercurial, but ultimately queasy listening|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=June 18, 2018}}

| rev5 = Mojo

| rev5Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Cowan|first=Andy|title=Nas: Nasir|magazine=Mojo|issue=298|date=September 2018|page=96}}

| rev6 = MusicOMH

| rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Devlin|first=Ben|date=June 15, 2018|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/nas-nasir|title=Nas – Nasir|website=MusicOMH|access-date=June 15, 2018}}

| rev7 = NME

| rev7Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|last=Aubrey|first=Elizabeth|date=June 16, 2018|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/nas-nasir-review-2339997|title=Nas – 'Nasir' review|website=NME|access-date=December 18, 2019}}

| rev8 = Pitchfork

| rev8score = 6.1/10{{cite web|last=Kearse|first=Stephen|date=June 20, 2018|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nas-nasir|title=Nas: Nasir|website=Pitchfork|access-date=June 20, 2018}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9score = {{rating|2.5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Thompson|first=Paul|date=June 18, 2018|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/nas-nasir-kanye-west-album-review-w521680|title=Nas: 'Nasir' Is the One Thing the Rapper has Never Been Before – Dull|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=June 18, 2018}}

| rev10 = XXL

| rev10Score = 4/5{{cite magazine|last=Kennedy|first=John|date=June 26, 2018|url=https://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2018/06/nas-nasir-album-review/|title=Nas' 'Nasir' Album Is (Good) Rapping for Rap's Sake|magazine=XXL|access-date=June 26, 2018}}

}}

Nasir was met with generally mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 58, based on 16 reviews.

For The A.V. Club, Colin McGowan praised Kanye West's "lavishly triumphant production" on songs such as "White Label" and Nas' political awareness on "Cops Shot the Kid" but observed filler in the "empty empowerment" of "Everything" and the "late-90s jiggy rap" of "Bonjour"; he concluded that Nasir was a less-than-definitive experiment for the rapper. Elizabeth Aubrey of NME wrote: "Whilst stylistically Nasir may well have plenty of strong moments, its contradictions make it a difficult, problematic listen: it's the silences on here which so often deafen." She praised West's production and the album's brevity, as well as Nas' lyrical maturity and social awareness, however noted that the political beliefs shared sometimes "ring hollow", being at odds with views shared by West. She also believed the rapper's male gaze of women conflicted with the album's underlying theme of equality, while failing to address allegations of abuse by Nas' ex-wife Kelis: "It's a deeply troubling conflict on an album that manages to be so successfully woke on one level and yet so blatantly archaic on another".

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised West's production and Nas' tackling of social justice issues but also criticised Nas for not addressing domestic violence allegations, as well as for the "mercurial" nature of his lyrics stating "[Nas'] rhymes shifting from acute, powerful indictments of racism to stuff that makes no sense, or seems to be there purely for the purposes of provocation" and describing some of the themes as "conspiracy theories". In a review for Rolling Stone, Paul Thompson described the album as "a frustrating listen, with glimpses of greatness". He wrote that "Nasir is among the weakest Nas albums, but there's nothing spectacular about its failure", describing it as "unfocused and unclear", however noted that "there are interesting flashes elsewhere on the album", praising "Everything" and "Adam and Eve", as well as describing "Cops Shot the Kid" as "cogent". Online hip hop publication HipHopDX described the album as "imperfect fine art", concluding that "When you factor in all its dexterity, randomness and overall generality, it's hard to truly believe Nasir was the album he had been cerebrally building these past six years."{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.3186/title.review-the-kanye-west-rush-job-shortchanges-nasirs-potential|title=Review: The Kanye West Rush Job Shortchanges "NASIR's" Potential|publisher=HipHopDX|date=June 20, 2018|access-date=June 22, 2018}} Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention ({{Rating-Christgau|hm1}}) in his capsule-review column for Vice, singling out "Cops Shot the Kid" and "Everything" as highlights while crediting Nas for "bringing the knowledge, mixing in the sophistry, and dropping a laugh line he knows the boss [West] can't top: 'Everybody's saying my humility's infectious,' what a card".{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=July 13, 2018|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/robert-christgau-reviews-pusha-t-kanye-west-tierra-whack/|title=Robert Christgau on G.O.O.D Music's Good (and Less Good) Music|magazine=Vice|access-date=July 15, 2018}}

While reflecting on the album, Nas expressed confusion as to why the album didn't resonate with audiences and critics. "I don't know what went wrong," Nas began. “I like "Cop Shot the Kid,' I like 'Adam and Eve. I like the music in 'Simple Things.' It's a short album. We just didn't get enough time. I wish we'd worked on it more.“{{cite web | url=https://rockthebells.com/articles/nas-on-working-with-kanye/ | title=Nas Addresses "What Went Wrong" with Kanye }}

Nasir debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 77,000 album-equivalent units, of which 49,000 were pure album sales.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8462423/5-seconds-of-summer-third-no-1-album-billboard-200-chart|title=5 Seconds of Summer Earn Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Youngblood'|first=Keith|last=Caulfield|magazine=Billboard|date=June 24, 2018|access-date=June 25, 2018}} It serves as Nas's twelfth top-ten album in the United States.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/amp/articles/columns/chart-beat/8462438/nas-nasir-billboard-200-chart-top-10|title=Nas Claims 12th Top 10 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Nasir'|first=Keith|last=Caulfield|magazine=Billboard|date=June 24, 2018|access-date=November 8, 2018}} The album dropped to the number 36 in its second week, earning an additional 14,000 album-equivalent units.{{cite magazine|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.47498/title.hip-hop-album-sales-xxxtentacions-lands-at-2-on-billboard-200-following-his-death|title=Hip Hop Album Sales: XXXTENTACION's "?" Lands At #2 On Billboard 200 Following His Death|first=Kyle|last=Eustice|magazine=Hiphopdx|date=July 2, 2018|access-date=November 8, 2018}}

• Credits are adapted from the CD version.

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Not for Radio

| note1 = featuring Puff Daddy and 070 Shake

| writer1 = {{hlist|Nasir Jones|Basil Poledouris|Kanye West|Mike Dean|Magnus August Høiberg|Benjamin Levin|Oladipo Omishore|Sean Combs|Terius Nash}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|West|Dean{{ref|a|[a]}}|Dot da Genius{{ref|a|[a]}}|Benny Blanco{{ref|a|[a]}}|Cashmere Cat{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length1 = 3:22

| title2 = Cops Shot the Kid

| note2 = featuring Kanye West

| writer2 = {{hlist|Jones|Ricky Walters|Richard Pryor|West|Andrew Dawson|Che Smith}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|West|Dawson{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length2 = 2:47

| title3 = White Label

| writer3 = {{hlist|Jones|West|Dean}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|West|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}|BoogzDaBeast{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length3 = 2:58

| title4 = Bonjour

| note4 = featuring Tony Williams

| writer4 = {{hlist|Jones|R. D. Burman|West|Dean|Omishore|Tony Williams|Che Pope}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|West|Pope{{ref|a|[a]}}|Dot da Genius{{ref|a|[a]}}|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}|Eric Danchick{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length4 = 3:21

| title5 = Everything

| note5 = featuring The-Dream and Kanye West

| writer5 = {{hlist|Jones|West|Dean|Nash|Levin|Caroline Shaw|Høiberg|Patrick Reynolds|Adrian Owusu|Jake Ferguson|Malcolm Catto}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|West|Dean{{ref|a|[a]}}|Blanco{{ref|a|[a]}}|Cashmere Cat{{ref|a|[a]}}|Plain Pat{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length5 = 7:32

| title6 = Adam and Eve

| note6 = featuring The-Dream

| writer6 = {{hlist|Jones|West|Dean|Kourosh Yaghmaei|Nash|Pope}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|West|Dean{{ref|b|[b]}}|Plain Pat{{ref|b|[b]}}|Evan Mast{{ref|b|[b]}}}}

| length6 = 4:10

| title7 = Simple Things

| writer7 = {{hlist|Jones|West|Dean|Justin Vernon}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|West|Dean{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length7 = 2:19

| total_length = 26:29

}}

Notes

• {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies a co-producer
• {{sup|{{note|b|[b]}}}} signifies an additional producer
• "White Label" features uncredited vocals by Mano.{{citation|url=https://www.fakeshoredrive.com/2018/06/stream-nas-new-kanye-west-produced-project-nasir.html|title=Stream Nas' new Kanye West-produced project 'Nasir'|website=Fake Shore Drive|date=June 16, 2018|access-date=March 30, 2019}}

Samples{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/nas-releases-new-kanye-produced-album-nasir-listen/|title=Nas Releases New Kanye-Produced Album Nasir: Listen|publisher=Pitchfork|date=June 16, 2018|access-date=June 16, 2018}}

• "Not for Radio" contains samples of "Hymn to Red October (Main Title)" from The Hunt for Red October, spoken by Basil Poledouris.
• "Cops Shot the Kid" contains samples of "Children's Story", performed by Slick Rick, and dialogue from Wattstax, spoken by Richard Pryor.
• "Bonjour" contains samples of "Dance Music" from Mukti, performed by R. D. Burman, and dialogue from Paid in Full, spoken by Dame Dash.
• "Everything" contains samples of "Space Time Girl", written by Adrian Owusu, Jake Ferguson and Malcolm Catto, as performed by The Heliocentrics.
• "Adam and Eve" contains samples of "Gole Yakh", performed by Kourosh Yaghmaei, dialogue from The Godfather Part II, spoken by Al Pacino.
• "White Label" contains samples of "Prison Song", performed by Shahram Shabpareh.{{citation|url=https://www.umusicpub.com/us/Digital-Music-Library/song/384367/nas-white-label| title=Song Details|website=Universal Music Publishing Group|access-date=July 28, 2020}}

• Phillip Peterson – cello, string arrangement {{small|(tracks 1, 4)}}
• Victoria Parker – violin {{small|(tracks 1, 4)}}
• Plain Pat – drums {{small|(tracks 5, 6)}}

• Zack Djurich – engineering
• Sean Solymar – engineering
• Juan "AyoJuan" Pena – engineering {{small|(track 1)}}
• Mike Malchicoff – engineering {{small|(track 4)}}
• Mike Dean – mixing {{small|(tracks 1, 3, 5)}}
• Jess Jackson – mixing {{small|(tracks 1, 3, 5)}}
• Andrew Dawson – mixing {{small|(tracks 2, 4, 6, 7)}}
• BoogzDaBeast – programming {{small|(track 1)}}
• Ryan Hendrickson – engineering {{small|(tracks 1, 4)}}

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{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.metacritic.com/music/nasir/nas Nasir] at Metacritic

{{Nas}}

{{Wyoming Sessions}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2018 albums

Category:Albums produced by Benny Blanco

Category:Albums produced by Cashmere Cat

Category:Albums produced by Plain Pat

Category:Albums produced by Kanye West

Category:Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer)

Category:Def Jam Recordings albums

Category:Nas albums

Category:Albums produced by Dot da Genius

Category:Mass Appeal Records albums

Category:Albums produced by E*vax